First, I love food and I love cooking, so you know I am not
going to eat boring meals. You’ll see in my weekly menus below that there is a
great variety, different ways to use the same ingredients, and the meals are
satisfying.
Second, Paleo is easy one meal at a time, but can seem
daunting when you have to plan for many meals a week. But there are tons of
websites with great recipe ideas, Pinterest is great for creating an online
recipe book, and before you know it you have a handful of go to meals you keep
in rotation that make it easy. Some of my favorite websites for recipes are:
As for making the time, you have to plan and prep. Schedule
it into your day. Here’s how I do it. I make a 7 day menu and list all the
ingredients I need. We go to the store on Friday after work. I make a list of
everything that I can prep ahead of time – spiralizing zucchini or sweet
potatoes, ricing cauliflower, shredding cheese, cutting onions, bagging smoothie
ingredients, making sauce or salad dressing, smashing cauliflower or mashing
potatoes. I always keep throwaway Tupperware and baggies on hand. On Saturday
or Sunday I spend an hour or 2 prepping the food for the week. Turn on some
music and depending on the time of day, have a cup of tea or a drink and it can
be quite relaxing! Also, I like to make something on Sunday that we can eat for
a few days, as you’ll see below.
Here are 2 examples of my weekly eating plan with recipe
links and notes. I start on Friday because that is when I go to the store and my
food plan starts. Italics mean that I prep that during my weekend session.
Week 1:
Friday
8:00am - Green
smoothie – Half banana, apple, orange, kale, spinach, ginger, 2 dates. (I
cut, bag, and freeze the fruit during my prep. I always keep a baggie of small
squares of ginger root in the freezer.)
10:00am – Larabar (optional if I had a hard workout). These
typically have 2-5 ingredients. My favorite is Cashew Cookie and it has cashews
and dates. That’s it! I could make them, but this is easier to keep on hand in
my desk.
12:00pm – Veggie salad with avocado and scoop of tuna salad
and balsamic dressing. Let’s call this the “Betsy salad” going forward because
I order it everyday at the office.
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter (optional if I am hungry)
7:00pm – Tacos – Seasoned ground beef on cauliflower tortillas with lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa, and small amount of good white cheddar.
Saturday
10:00am – Green smoothie
12:00pm – Mixed greens with roasted beets, honey smoked salmon (I am in love with this),
slivered almonds, balsamic dressing, and a small amount of goat cheese.
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Chicken brats with sweet potato fries and Brussels sprout salad
Sunday
10:00am – Banana with almond butter
12:00pm – Brussels sprout salad topped with salmon
7:30pm – Beef stew
Monday
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Beef stew
Tuesday
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Baked chicken on mixed greens with avocado, tomato,
and salsa.
Wednesday (Cheat Day)
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Cheat meal – Bahn mi tofu spinach wrap panini
3:00pm – Chocolate from Europe. The guys I work with in Europe always keep me stocked up!
7:30pm – Beef stew. Pop tart for dessert.
Thursday
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Chicken sandwiches (husband gets a bun, I wrap mine
in lettuce) with caramelized onions,
avocado, and mayo. Served with sweet
potato fries.
Week 2:
Friday
8:00am - Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:00pm – Tacos – Seasoned ground beef on cauliflower
tortillas with lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa, and small amount of good white cheddar.
Saturday
10:00am – Green smoothie
12:00pm – Mixed greens with roasted beets, honey smoked
salmon, slivered almonds, balsamic dressing, and a small amount of goat cheese
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Beef and broccoli stir fry on cauliflower rice
Sunday
10:00am – Banana with almond butter
12:00pm – Chipotle chicken salad with guacamole and green
salsa
7:30pm – Pasta Sauce (I make this in the crockpot all day)
with zoodles and grated parmesan.
Caesar salad with homemade dressing
Monday
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Spaghetti squash lasagna with leftover sauce and Caesar salad
Tuesday
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Baked fish with Brussel
sprouts baked in a Dijon vinaigrette and smashed cauliflower
Wednesday
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Baked Chicken Parmesan with leftover sauce served on zoodles
Thursday (Cheat Day)
8:00am – Green smoothie
10:00am – Larabar
12:00pm – Betsy Salad
3:00pm – Scoop of almond butter
7:30pm – Cheat meal – Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Check out Part 3 for my tips on eating out.
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